Two-time Olympic champion Donovan Bailey has pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol, his lawyer said Tuesday.

The Canadian sprinter was was driving home from a wine-tasting event when Toronto police approached him when he was stopped along the Don Valley Parkway​ making a phone call, Bill Trudell said.

His blood alcohol content was over 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood (0.08 per cent), the maximum legal limit for fully licensed drivers in Ontario and the rest of Canada. Driving with a blood alcohol content in excess of 0.08 per cent is a criminal offence.

Bailey pleaded guilty earlier this month at College Park courthouse in Toronto. He was out of town at the time and entered the plea through Trudell.

In Bailey's statement to the court, he said he had learned a valuable lesson, calling the incident out of character. Trudell said it was an example of how drinking can creep up on you, because Bailey thought he was OK when he left a wine-tasting event in 2012.

He was fined $1,500 and automatically loses his driver's licence for one year.

Bailey once held the world record for the 100-metre race following his gold medal performance at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Bailey tweeted on Aug. 15, the day his guilty plea was entered, "You must have long-term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-term failures," a quote attributed to Charles C. Noble.

"You must have long term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short term failures." - Charles C. Noble